The present invention relates to an efficient solar energy conversion system, and particularly to a simple system for converting solar energy to heat suitable for creating heat suitable for cooking food, driving an engine, to create electricity, providing hot water for many applications, and other uses.
From early times of mankind, it has been recognized that solar energy is an abundant source of energy. The discovery of the magnifying glass was a breakthrough on concentrating solar energy for igniting a fire. The discovery of methods for the conversion solar energy into electricity was another breakthrough.
There are a multitude of devices to capture solar energy in some useful way; however, it is well known that all known devices suffer from relatively poor conversion efficiency. Generally, the efficiency of converting solar energy is less than about 25%. It is rare that a conversion of solar energy to another form of energy such as electricity, or heat is greater than about 50%, and the higher efficiency requires highly specialized equipment, thereby making an efficient system relatively unavailable for wide distribution to many developing countries.
There is a need for an efficient solar conversion system to heat that is relatively inexpensive to implement and to maintain.